The Chicago Building
Residence Hall/Dormitory in Chicago, IL · 7 West Madison Street · 60603
At a glance
The Chicago Building is a 104,965-square-foot residence hall/dormitory at 7 West Madison Street in Chicago, Illinois, built in 1904. In its 2023 Chicago benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 64 out of 100 (grade C), a site energy-use intensity of 93.2 kBtu/ft² and 741 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 33% of the 18 scored residence hall/dormitory buildings in Chicago.
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance · reporting year 2023
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 64 (band C) |
| Site EUI | 93.2 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 131.6 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 741 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 7.1 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 632,799 kWh |
| Natural gas | 59,754 therms |
| Gross floor area | 104,965 sq ft |
| Source record | chicago:173632:2023 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023latest | 64 | 93.2 kBtu/ft² | 741 tCO₂e | |
| 2022 | — | — | — | |
| 2021 | 59 | -8 | 98.5 kBtu/ft² | 840 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 67 | +6 | 91.1 kBtu/ft² | 794 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 61 | -2 | 104.2 kBtu/ft² | 932 tCO₂e |
| 2018 | 63 | 105.5 kBtu/ft² | 940 tCO₂e | |
| 2017 | — | 91.8 kBtu/ft² | 907 tCO₂e | |
| 2016 | — | 96.6 kBtu/ft² | 979 tCO₂e | |
| 2015 | — | 92.0 kBtu/ft² | 977 tCO₂e |
Compliance context
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance
Covered buildings that fail to benchmark and report face fines of up to $100 plus $25 per day of violation under the ordinance.
Ownership
No owning organisation shown. Names of private individuals in the disclosure are not published here.
Own or manage this building? Claim it to correct the record and get compliance alerts.
Location
- Address
- 7 West Madison Street
- City
- Chicago
- State
- Illinois
- ZIP
- 60603
- Coordinates
- 41.84973, -87.62716
Within ~1 km
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- 530 North Lake Shore Drivescore 94
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See also: most efficient in Chicago · biggest emitters
How does The Chicago Building compare with other residence hall/dormitory buildings in Chicago?
The latest disclosures cover 25 residence hall/dormitory buildings in Chicago, out of 3,852 buildings citywide. The Chicago Building's ENERGY STAR score of 64 compares with an average of 64 across the 18 that report a score; it scores higher than 33% of them and lower than 61%. Its site EUI of 93.2 kBtu/ft² is about 11% above the average of 83.6 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 7.1 kgCO₂e/ft² is roughly in line with the group average of 7.1 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 104,965 sq ft, it is about 38% below the average floor area of 167,953 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1904, 72 years earlier than the group's average year built (1977). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 702 residence hall/dormitory buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 70 and a site EUI of 70.7 kBtu/ft².
How has The Chicago Building's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 9 Chicago disclosures for The Chicago Building, covering report years 2015–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 63 in 2018 to 64 in 2023 (+1 points); its best year on file was 2020, at 67. Site EUI moved from 92.0 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 93.2 kBtu/ft² (2023), an 1% increase. Reported emissions went from 977 tCO₂e to 741 tCO₂e over the same span (down 24%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 64 mean?
ENERGY STAR scores run from 1 to 100 and are computed by the EPA's Portfolio Manager as a percentile against similar buildings nationwide, adjusted for climate, size and use: a score of 64 means the building performs better than about 64% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 64 falls in band C — below median (55–69). It sits 11 points below 75, the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification. In Chicago, 35% of scored buildings are at 75 or above.
Site energy-use intensity (EUI) is the energy a building uses on site in a year divided by its floor area, in thousand Btu per square foot — lower is more efficient. The Chicago Building's 93.2 kBtu/ft² across 104,965 sq ft works out to about 9.8 billion Btu (2,867 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 131.6 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 632,799 kWh of electricity and 59,754 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires The Chicago Building to report its energy use?
The Chicago Building reports under the Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance, the legal basis of the Chicago Energy Benchmarking program, which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2023 disclosure (source record chicago:173632:2023). Covered buildings that fail to benchmark and report face fines of up to $100 plus $25 per day of violation under the ordinance.
More residence hall/dormitory buildings in Chicago
- 600 618 S WABASH AVE· 95,466 sq ft
- San Francisco Hall-ID# 254170· 92,000 sq ft · score 73 (B)
- Bellarmine Hall-ID#173888· 85,129 sq ft · score 83 (B)
- Campion Hall-ID# 254165· 80,742 sq ft · score 50 (D)
- Snell-Hitchcock· 73,837 sq ft · score 69 (C)
- de Nobili Hall-ID#254169· 73,000 sq ft · score 29 (D)
- Residence Hall/Dormitory buildings in Chicago· 25 benchmarked
- All Chicago benchmarked buildings· Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance
- Most efficient large buildings in Chicago
- Least efficient large buildings in Chicago
- Biggest emitters in Chicago
Frequently asked questions
What is The Chicago Building's energy grade?
The Chicago Building scores 64 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band C, below median (55–69) — in its 2023 Chicago disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does The Chicago Building use?
Its 2023 site energy-use intensity was 93.2 kBtu/ft² (131.6 kBtu/ft² source) across 104,965 sq ft, including 632,799 kWh of electricity and 59,754 therms of natural gas.
What are The Chicago Building's carbon emissions?
The Chicago Building reported 741 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (7.1 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2023.
Where is The Chicago Building?
The Chicago Building is at 7 West Madison Street, in Chicago, Illinois 60603. Its coordinates are 41.84973, -87.62716 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Chicago Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is The Chicago Building and when was it built?
The Chicago Building has 104,965 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2023 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1904 as its year built. It is classed as residence hall/dormitory.
Is The Chicago Building covered by the Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance?
Yes — it appears in the 2023 Chicago Energy Benchmarking disclosure, which lists the buildings reporting under the Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance.
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About this data
Source: Chicago Energy Benchmarking (Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance), as published October 2, 2026. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: BuildingCensus, “The Chicago Building, Chicago, Illinois — 2023 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/chicago/the-chicago-building-810719c1 (data as of October 2, 2026).